Love
by Dar'ska
Summary: A young boy searching for acceptance must over come his past in order to move on with his life. SasuNaru. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in the Naruto series.**

Prologue

A young boy, about the age of three, with blond hair that seemed to dull the sun and blue eyes that could put the sky and ocean to shame stared out of the small window of the orphanage. Bars on the window prevented the boy from leaving. As he stared up at the moon his golden orange fox tail swished behind him. This boy was no ordinary boy. He was a hybrid. He had not only a fox tail but also matching fox ears that stuck out of his hair.

His room, if you could call it that, was small; barely twenty-five feet squared (5 ft x 5 ft). It contained a small mat, similar to a yoga mat, that was supposed to be a bed, a TV tray, the ones used for breakfast in bed, as his table, and a small two-drawer nightstand that served as both a nightstand and as a dresser. A single pillow, thin sheet, and a small stuff fox toy occupied the bed.

The boy glanced at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand. It read 10:36 p.m. The boy sighed and moved from the small window, a mere 2 ft by ½ ft window, towards his bed. As the boy began to lie on his bed, he winced as pain shot through his back. The Headmaster of the orphanage had beaten him again as punishment for something but the boy couldn't remember for what. This wasn't the first time he was beaten. Since he learned to walk, the young fox was always being punished. Why was beyond the child.

With one more glance out of the window, the young boy began to drift into sleep.

The next morning, a loud knock on the door woke the young fox from his dreams.

"Boy, you better be up or so help me I'll tan your hide!" a female voice roared through the door.

"H...Hai," the timid three-year old stuttered.

With that the person on the other side of the door left. The boy quickly gathered his small bag of his bathroom things, some clothes, and ran out of his room toward the nearest bathroom. Luckily for the boy, no one was waiting to use the bathroom. In less than ten minutes he was washed, dried, and dressed. His outfit consisted of wore out, hand-me-down blue jeans and a faded orange t-shirt, that was also a hand-me-down. He quickly brushed his teeth and re-gathered his things before leaving the bathroom. He dropped them off in his room and headed downstairs toward the kitchen in hopes of a meal.

Once he got to the kitchen, the cook simple gave him a piece of burnt toast and sent him on his way.

_At least it's something_ the boy grumbled in his head. Sometimes he would get nothing from the cook. The cook was a woman in her mid-thirties with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She was a simple woman with no real dominating features that made her stand out in a crowd.

As the boy headed out of the kitchen, a male voice called out to him," NARUTO!"

The boy, now named Naruto, stopped and turned toward the speaker. It was a man with greasy black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. It was the headmaster.

"H…Hai, sir?" Naruto quietly replied.

"You've got chores to be doin'. Stop lollygagin' and get to work!" the headmaster ordered.

"H…Hai," was all Naruto could say. Naruto quickly finished his breakfast and headed to supply closed to get out a bucket, wash cloth, and some soap. Next, he moved toward the main floor bathrooms and started cleaning.

Everyday for the past four months has been like this. Many of the children were forced to clean the orphanage. Most just had to keep their rooms tidy and the playroom straight. They also had to clean up after themselves during meals and after using the bathroom, mainly just wiping down the tables and sinks when done. But for a few, they also had to clean the rest of the place. For some, it was a punishment for being bad. For others, like Naruto, it was because the headmaster and the staff didn't like you.

As night fell, Naruto retreated to his room. It was 9:57 p.m. when he reached his room. He had once again been beaten by the headmaster. This time it was for his poor cleaning job.

Most of the kids had to share a room. But their rooms were normal size rooms with bunk beds, two dressers, two desks, two chairs, and a nightstand. Pretty much like a dorm room. Naruto didn't have to share mainly because there was no room and because he was a hybrid.

Naruto made his way over to the window and sat on the floor gazing up at the night sky. The stars reflected in his eyes as he simply just sat there. There was no light in his room save for the light of the moon and stars. He heard a staff member yell that it was lights out. A sigh escaped the young demon as he turned his gaze back at his room. It fell on the stuff fox on his bed. It had been a gift from his parents. His mother had died during child birth and is father committed suicide that same night. The fox had belonged to his father when he was younger and had wanted to give it to Naruto. It was all he had to remind him of his family. His father had been a fox hybrid while his mother was a simple human. It was no surprise that she died the day he was born. Naruto's mother couldn't handle carrying a hybrid child. And his father couldn't go on without his wife. So Naruto was left alone with no one to turn to, no living relative to take him in, and no godparent to release him to. So he was stuck in an orphanage, waiting and hoping to get adopted one day.

"Maybe tomorrow," Naruto whispered to himself and the stuff fox as sleep began to claim him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter One

Sasuke Uchiha sat at the table in the dining room eating breakfast while his guardian was talking on the phone. Sasuke had raven black hair that framed his face and onyx colored eyes. He was sixteen years old and was currently attending Konoha High, a local public high school. Sasuke was a straight A's student and the current junior class president. His guardian was a strange man who wore a mask that covered the lower half of his face and an eye patch over his left eye. He had silver-grey hair, despite his age, and his only visible eye was a blue-grey. His name was Kakashi Hatake and he has been looking after Sasuke for the past eight years.

Sasuke had lost his parents when he was only eight. They had gotten into a car accident one night and unfortunately didn't make it. This left Sasuke and his older brother, Itachi, alone. Itachi was thirteen at the time. He is now twenty-one and currently on a business trip. Since the death of their parents, the two boys have been living with Kakashi. Itachi, at the age of fourteen, became the head of the family company, Uchiha Inc., after over throwing the previous CEO.

Sasuke quickly finished his meal and began to gather his things for school. He took one last glance toward his guardian, headed to the door, put on his shoes, and left. Once outside, Sasuke ran into some of his friends. Neji Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Gaara no Sabuko, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. Neji had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and lavender eyes. Kiba was a dog hybrid with messy, brown hair and dark brown eyes; he also had two upside down triangles under each eye. He had a pair of ears and a tail that were the same color as his hair. Gaara was a raccoon hybrid with deep red hair and sea green eyes. He also had a pair of raccoon ears and a matching tail. It was a light brown nearly tan fur with dark brown stripes. Shikamaru had brown hair styled in a ponytail that resembled a pineapple and brown eyes. Choji had light brown hair, brown eyes, and a red swirl on each cheek.

"How ya doin' Sasuke?" Kiba asked in an annoyingly loud voice.

"Fine. How 'bout you guys?" Sasuke inquired. There were murmurs of "Good" and "Fine" from his friends.

They continued on their way to school when Shikamaru suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, we're getting a new student today," Shikamaru lazily replied.

Sasuke and his friends arrived to school with fifteen minutes till the tardy bell. They split off going to their respected lockers and then off to their homeroom. Each one was curious about what the new student would be like. Questions like if it was a boy or girl; what did they look like; were they fun to be around; were they shy; what they liked to do; would they be in their class, etc.

Sasuke was the first of his friends to arrive to his homeroom. He took his seat in the back by the window. He then took out his notebook and began to study for his history test he had in fourth hour. However, his study time was cut short by two annoying leeches named Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. Sasuke stared at the two girls with distaste. Sakura had bubblegum pink hair and jade green eyes. Her skin was a light pale color. Ino was a blue-eyed blonde with cream colored skin, slightly tanner than Sakura. Both girls were practically on top of him. Ino was leaning over his desk in a suggestive manner and Sakura was latched onto his arm as if she were a part of him. Sasuke knew that Sakura was trying to rub her non-existent breasts on his arm in hopes of "winning him over."

Just as they were about to open their mouths to say something, Sasuke immediately replied," No." Both girls pouted in what they thought was a cute manner but was really make Sasuke sick. "Please leave. I am busy right now and I wish to be left alone. And no, I will not go out with either of you." Sasuke said all of this with a monotone type voice, but you could hear the underline warning in his voice and see it in his eyes. Again both girls pouted but left him alone.

It was that Sasuke hated or loathed the two girls; they were just annoying and constantly bothering him about going out with them or fighting over who sat next to him and other such trivial things. It gave Sasuke a headache. Just as the two annoying leeches left Neji and Gaara entered the classroom. They walked over to Sasuke and sat down in the row in front of him. Gaara took the window seat while Neji took the seat to Gaara's right.

"What took you so long?" Sasuke demanded.

"The usual," was Neji's reply. Sasuke just snorted. He should have known. Neji and Gaara have been dating since the beginning of the summer. Sasuke decided to return to studying when the rest of his friends arrived. Kiba sat one chair away from Sasuke in the back row and Shikamaru and Choji sat next to Neji, Choji sitting on Neji's right with Shikamaru on Choji's right.

The group settled into light conversation about what they had been up to over the weekend and what they planned to do during the next one. Sasuke glanced over his notes while listening to his friends talk. About ten minutes after the tardy bell rang, Kakashi, their homeroom teacher, finally makes his appearance.

"Good morning," was his cheery greeting. The class just stared at him for a minute before going back to whatever they were doing prior to his entrance. Kakashi just chuckled as he made his way to his desk. He sat down and pulled out an orange book and began to read. Completely ignoring his students. The announcements were long over and the students had about fifteen more minutes left of homeroom.

Suddenly Kiba asked,"When is the new kid suppose to be here?" Shikamaru just shrugged.

Sasuke and his friends were walking out into the cafeteria for lunch. They had made it through homeroom, first hour literature, second hour mathematics, third hour science, and fourth hour history. As they waited in line for their food, Gaara began to question Shikamaru if there really was a new student.

"Yes, there really is a new student. And no, I don't know when they will be here or anything about them," Shikamaru stated.

The six of them walk toward an empty table in the courtyard with their food. Once they got outside they saw…


	3. Author's Note

I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. My computer crashed on me and I lost everything. Then when I got a new computer I suddenly realized that I didn't like how I originally had the story going and decided to take some time to revamp the next chapter. It is taking longer than thought due to my abnormal schedule. I hope to have the next chapter up and running soon though, just be patient a little longer please.

On another note, I was reading another story on fanfiction and came across this AN and I was shocked by what the author said. Please read the petition below and if you wish add your name and spread the word. I don't want any stories to be deleted because that is not fair to the author and/or betas who worked so hard on them and then took the time to post them on this site for others to enjoy.

**Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.**

**Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.**

**For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.**

**It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.**

**If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.**

**While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.**

**For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.**

**Psudocode_Samurai**

**Rocketman1728**

**dracohalo117**

**VFSNAKE**

**Agato the Venom Host**

**Jay Frost**

**SamCrow**

**Blood Brandy**

**Dusk666**

**Hisea Ori**

**The Dark Graven**

**BlackRevenant**

**Lord Orion Salazar Black**

**Sakusha Saelbu**

**Horocrux**

**socras01**

**Kumo no Makoto**

**Biskoff**

**Korraganitar the NightShadow**

**NightInk**

**Lazruth**

**ragnrock kyuubi**

**SpiritWriterXXX**

**Ace6151**

**FleeingReality**

**Harufu**

**Exiled crow**

**Slifer1988**

**Dee Laynter**

**Angeldoctor**

**Final Black Getsuga**

**ZamielRaizunto**

**Fenris187**

**blood enraged**

**arashiXnoXkami**

**Masane Amaha's King**

**Blueexorist**

**Nero Angelo Sparda**

**Konoha's Nightmare**

**Gundam Epyion**

**Gold Testament**

**Red Warrior of Light**

**Skyler Stackhouse**

**Dar'ska**


End file.
